Tending The Garden
by Paige M. Carter
Summary: Dean tends to his garden, keeping the weeds away. Part of the 'Sowing Seeds' universe. Some SPOILERS for 4-13 RAW
1. WrestleMania

Disclaimer: I own nothing here. They belong to WWE, don't sue me, I'm not making any money.

Note: All three chapters are phone conversations.

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"So, does our agreement still stand?"

"Are you doubting me?"

"Well, I wasn't expecting Roman's victory to be snatched away at the last minute."

"Well, I wasn't expecting to be told to cash in. Poor Roman, that sucks so badly. All that work and grief for nothing. I know his family was so excited." Seth said with a sigh. "How's he taking it?"

"He's trying to be positive about it, but he's hurt and angry. They didn't have to screw him over in front of seventy-six thousand people, not to mention all the people there that weren't part of the Anoa'i family," Dean said, tiredly.

"I tried, Dean, I really did. I at least wanted him to get the win that he'd signed-up for before cashing in, at least make all the crap he's been getting worth it."

"I know, and Roman does too. You didn't answer my question, though."

"I can't believe you're doubting me."

"Are you saying that with a straight face? Seriously?"

"Touché. Yes, the agreement still stands, Mister Paranoid. I may have been told to cash in, but I went out there on my own and Roman and Brock both kicked my butt. Besides, as much as it kills me to admit it, you were right; I made my name by kicking ass, not kissing it."

"All I needed to hear. So, Champ, any ideas of what we're going to do now that you're The Man?"

"You just wanted me to admit that you were right, you asshole. I've got a few ideas. Stephanie and Hunter are going to go back to Stamford after RAW tomorrow and they're leaving Kane in charge. Which means that they won't be around to smooth things over."

"Perfect timing then. Okay, so we agreed that Kane was the weakest link, right?"

"Yeah. Taker cornered him after his match with Wyatt. I'm not sure what he said, but Kane's been pissed off ever since." Kane's angry face after his talk with his brother had put a real damper on the after party.

"Okay, what's Kane's biggest weakness?"

Seth thought for a long time, "I think it would be that he thinks he doesn't get enough respect as compared to Taker. I mean, we both heard the crowd reaction when Taker accepted Wyatt's challenge and the sonofabitch wasn't even in the building." He thought some more, "I think I've got an idea.

"Oh? Do tell."

"Well, the fan's griping about Kane being a corporate puppet have really been getting to him lately. Maybe if I play on that, really act like the classic heel champion, I'll get him to snap."

"If anyone can do it, it's you, Seth."

"I'm going to take that as a compliment, even though I'm not sure you meant it that way."

"Take it any way you want." Dean yawned.

"I'll let you go," Seth said, smothering his own yawn.

"Okay, talk to you tomorrow."

TBC


	2. RAW After Mania

Disclaimer: They aren't mind, they belong to WWE, don't sue me.

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"Tell me that wasn't part of the plan!"

"How can you think that?! I figured Lesnar would be mad, but I didn't plan on him losing his fucking gourd like that! I figured he'd take it out on Joey and Jamie, not the commentators and the camera guy."

"So what's going on there now?"

"Steph and Hunter are _pissed_, they've been talking to the lawyers non-stop, making sure Lesnar and Heyman can't find any wiggle room out of this."

"So how much of that was part of the plan?"

"Very little. I got almost no sleep last night between interviews, the after party and having to catch a red-eye to New York and then flying back. I don't think I could've beaten El Torito for the title."

"So when are you going to defend it?"

"Probably Extreme Rules, maybe before. Right now, Steph and Hunter are too busy making sure WWE doesn't get its pants sued off because of Lesnar."

"What about the plan?"

"It's going to have to wait until at least SmackDown. Right now, I think it's best I keep my mouth shut. I feel so bad though, especially for the camera guy."

"You couldn't have know Lesnar would go completely off the rails like that. I'm still not sure what he's so pissed about, though. He and Heyman both knew that the Money in the Bank hadn't been cashed in yet and under Triple Threat rules, the Champion doesn't have to be pinned. Heyman knows that as well as anyone."

"Lesnar and Heyman don't think the rules should apply to them. I may not have pinned Brock, but I still beat him."

Dean sighed, "Good point. It'll go in the record book as a loss, Lesnar's going to have to stew on that for awhile."

"How're you holding up? That was a hell of a match against Cena."

"I'm…okay. I'm pissed that I didn't win."

"You really should take it easy. That spill was nasty," Seth said, still remembering how his heart had stopped when Dean hit the ground and didn't get back up.

"I'll be fine, I've taken worse spills than that."

Seth looked up when he heard Jamie and Joey talking outside. "Look, I gotta go. Talk to you later."

"Okay. Bye."

TBC


	3. Unexpected Difficulties

"Please tell me, there's a Plan B." Was the first thing Seth heard after picking up his phone.

"Okay, so I didn't bank on Kane being so damn stubborn. I honestly thought sending Bryan in would do the trick." Seth admitted, sitting down on the sofa. "How's Roman? I can't believe he wouldn't accept medical attention,"

"How long have you known him? He's fine, I think the car got the worse end of it, to be honest." Dean said, Seth could hear him stretching out on his own sofa. "So, about your big idea-"

"Hey, it was a good idea! I just didn't bank on Kane having second thoughts." Seth said defensively. "He hates being a corporate puppet so much, I don't get why he's fighting a face turn."

"Maybe Hunter and Steph have something on him."

"Maybe. Not sure what. I doubt anything they could have on Kane could top that Katie thing ten years ago."

"Yeah, that was weird. So do you have a Plan B?"

"Of course I do! I'm the Architect! I always have a Plan B!" He didn't, but Dean didn't need to know that.

"Great! So what is it?"

"I need to tweak it."

"That's what I thought."

"Look, Kane almost came through for us, tonight. I just need to work on him some more."

"Maybe we should work on Noble and Mercury."

"No, Jamie and Joey are my friends, I don't want to hurt them, they don't deserve that. Plus, they aren't that important to Stephanie and Hunter. If we were to get Kane or Show to defect, that would be major."

"What if we get them both to defect? Or at least, cause lots of instability."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, they were having issues with each other before Stephanie went all 'Mommy' on them and threatened to take away the Andre the Giant match, right? Well, that's done and Show won. Maybe if you can push their buttons enough, they'll turn on each other for real and that'll take two major pillars of The Authority out."

"Have I ever told you that you're a mad genius, Dean?" Seth said with a smile.

"Yes, but don't let that stop you from saying it again." Dean replied, and Seth could almost see the smirk through the phone. "Have you decided on your stipulation?"

"No. I need something that will really piss off the fans. Randy's probably going to stipulate either a cage match or Hell in a Cell. Either way, I'm stuck with Randy with no backup."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. Any ideas?"

"Why're you asking me?"

"Uh, because this whole thing is your idea? Plus, you're the historian: What would a heel do if faced with an opponent of equal or greater skills to get an edge?"

"Well, since you put it that way." Dean seemed to think it over. "Hmm, the heel would probably make a stipulation to make the face appear to be at a major disadvantage. Like, take the face's biggest offensive move away."

"You want me to stipulate that Randy can't use the RKO?" It was sad how quickly he'd forgotten that Dean was easily one of the smartest people in WWE as far as psychology and storytelling went.

"Exactly. Everyone knows that it's Orton's go to move, so it'll really make him look like he's at a disadvantage. He's a good enough wrestler that he doesn't really need it, but it'll really make you look like a coward to the fans."

"I wish we could bring Randy into this. He knows The Authority better than anyone." His first thought when he'd rejoined his brothers was to let Randy in on their plan, but Dean and Roman both vetoed the idea.

"Orton's too treacherous. No, the only people who need to know are us and Roman."

"Is he still mad about WrestleMania?"

"Yeah, but he's not mad at you, just at how it was done. I'll tell him what we decided when he gets back from talking to Jojo. She was pretty upset that Show beat him up."

"Okay. Oops, Joey's knocking on the door. I gotta go," Seth said, hearing Joey say it was time go back to the ring.

"Okay, be careful."

Dean hung up the phone with a smile, his beautiful little garden was coming along nicely. He just needed to keep a close eye out and its fruits would be appearing before he knew it.

The End.


End file.
